Don’t wait to experience joy and happiness

I am a firm believer that delayed gratification is sweeter. Have you all heard of the marshmellow test? Yet, I also believe that you should experience joy and happiness in your everyday life. I’m not saying that you should skip the mortgage payment for a shopping trip at the mall, no not that at all. What I’m saying is that sometimes we (those seeking FI) often postpone things or experiences with the idea that we will have plenty of time in the future to do those things, right now I’ll just keep my head down, work my little fingers off, eat ramen and enjoy life later. That’s all well and good (I like ramen once in a while too) , but what about today, this week, aren’t you going to get a little burned out?

As we are on this path to FI, I am going to squeeze some joy into my day. I am finding more things that bring me joy and I’m doing them, easy at that. Not all of these things / experiences are free, but I’m worth a little splurge on this road of saving, it’s part of my style 😉

Here is a list of things that I enjoy, and here’s my plan to incorporate them into my life.

1. Enjoy nature, take walks, visit botanical gardens. I love to look at gardens, but when it comes to weeding and taking care of them, no thank you, I’ll leave that to the professionals. How do I plan to incorporate this into my life, well, I plan to take at least one outdoor walk each week, I know that I should do more, but I know I can commit to at least one, and everything else will be a bonus. I have a few trails I enjoy, and I might scope out some new ones. Also we are going to be doing a little traveling later this summer, and I am putting the butchart botanical gardens on the itinerary.

2. Hot Yoga once every week or two. Now this is a pricey(to me) class, between $10-$20 a class depending how many sessions you purchase. But when I go, I feel a bit of sweaty luxury, I tune into my body and feel calm and serenity. I also am going to do a few yoga moves each night before bed. Just a little peaceful time to unwind and be grateful for my day. Maybe as I get more attune to the flow of poses, I will go down to just a class a month, or I will just do yoga on my own. Who couldn’t use a little more serenity in their life? However this is a barefoot class and I’ve been noticing all the well kept ladies with their pretty toes, which leads me to my next treat….this could very well spiral out of control….

3. Pedicures – I’m not talking the fancy smancy $60-$100 “spa experience.” I’m talking the cheap one in the strip mall for $20 that includes a bubbly foot soak and a quick hot rock leg rub down. The last time I had a pedicure was probably two years ago and I do miss this little treat. I’ve been thinking about treating myself to this little luxury for a few weeks now, and since it is quickly becoming sandal weather. I will put this on my luxury treat list for between 2-4 times per year.

Do you think I am being too frivolous with my indulgences? We’ll see how this affects my savings, will I still be able to stay on track with all my goals. Will these treats cause me to stray from saving in other ways? Or will these little pick-me-ups be just the small treats I need to stay the course? Time will tell, and I’ll report back.